This study examined students' experiences of learning in the Bachelor of Education Primary (L... more This study examined students' experiences of learning in the Bachelor of Education Primary (Language Arts) program offered by the School of Education, The University of the West Indies (UWI), Trinidad, in partnership with UWI Open Campus (UWIOC). It is the first and only online program offered by the School at the University's St. Augustine Campus. A qualitative methodology was used to explore the experiences of eight students, who were selected using a purposive sampling strategy. The participants were selected from UWIOC sites in five islands in which the program is offered. Data were collected through audiotaped interviews, which were conducted face-to-face with students in Trinidad and Tobago and via Skype with students in the other islands. The findings suggest that, generally, the students' expectations of learning in the online program were met. Human, technology-related, and course-related factors seemed to facilitate students' learning in the program. The fi...
This paper presents a description of a teacher education programme evaluation that was initiated,... more This paper presents a description of a teacher education programme evaluation that was initiated, planned, and executed in an attempt to enhance the quality of the programme's content, delivery, and impact. The evaluation comprised reports on the perspectives of major stakeholders on whether the Diploma in Education (Dip.Ed.) programme (2004-2009) had met their expectations, and on the benefits and limitations of the programme and its impact on teachers' practice. Subsequent to the preliminary inquiry into those stakeholders' perpectives, a more probing approach was applied to the perspectives of Heads of Department, School of Education (SOE) staff and Ministry of Education officials. The evaluation was guided by Guskey's (2002) theoretical and conceptual model of evaluating the impact of continuing professional development (CPD) on teachers' practice, and by the fourth generation evaluation model of Guba and Lincoln (1989). The sample for each phase was either s...
This paper reports on a segment of a research project that conducted an overall evaluation of the... more This paper reports on a segment of a research project that conducted an overall evaluation of the Diploma in Education (Dip. Ed.) programme provided by the School of Education of The University of the West Indies (UWI), St. Augustine for the period 2004-2009. The Dip. Ed. programme provides initial training for teachers employed in the secondary school system in Trinidad and Tobago. The overall study utilized the following models as theoretical and conceptual lenses: Guskey's (2002a) model of evaluating the impact of continuing professional development (CPD) on teachers' practice; and Guba and Lincoln's (1989) fourth generation evaluation model. This paper, which reports on the tachers' perspectives, presents findings on the extent to which the Dip. Ed. programme met their expectations, the benefits and limitations of the programme, and the impact of the programme on their practice. Data from teachers were gathered using an open-ended questionnaire, and were analys...
This paper examines the current status of teaching English in Trinidadian classrooms in the conte... more This paper examines the current status of teaching English in Trinidadian classrooms in the context of accepted L2 research, which holds that any programme aimed at teaching Standard English (SE) in the Anglophone Caribbean context should consider the students' ...
Contribute to the Repository We are seeking early adopters of the repository at the St. Augustine... more Contribute to the Repository We are seeking early adopters of the repository at the St. Augustine campus. If you wish to start a community or collection, you can contact the DSpace development team at The Alma Jordan Library, St. Augustine, at extensions ...
“Up a creek without a paddle” explains teachers’ views of the new one-to-one laptop initiative im... more “Up a creek without a paddle” explains teachers’ views of the new one-to-one laptop initiative implemented by the Ministries of Education in Trinidad and Tobago and Saint Lucia. These new initiatives required teachers to change their pedagogy and to negotiate the digital divide that existed between themselves and their students. This study uses the phenomenological research methodology to examine the experiences of teachers in Trinidad and Tobago and in Saint Lucia in implementing one-to-one laptop initiatives. Six secondary school teachers, three from Trinidad and Tobago and three from Saint Lucia, were interviewed to explore the barriers or fences they had to negotiate in the implementation of the one-to-one laptop initiatives. Findings reveal that while some teachers have the competence to integrate ICT in the classroom, others, mainly digital immigrants, lack basic technological skills and/or the required pedagogical skills to engage their students, the digital natives. Discussi...
This study examined students' experiences of learning in the Bachelor of Education Primary (L... more This study examined students' experiences of learning in the Bachelor of Education Primary (Language Arts) program offered by the School of Education, The University of the West Indies (UWI), Trinidad, in partnership with UWI Open Campus (UWIOC). It is the first and only online program offered by the School at the University's St. Augustine Campus. A qualitative methodology was used to explore the experiences of eight students, who were selected using a purposive sampling strategy. The participants were selected from UWIOC sites in five islands in which the program is offered. Data were collected through audiotaped interviews, which were conducted face-to-face with students in Trinidad and Tobago and via Skype with students in the other islands. The findings suggest that, generally, the students' expectations of learning in the online program were met. Human, technology-related, and course-related factors seemed to facilitate students' learning in the program. The fi...
This paper presents a description of a teacher education programme evaluation that was initiated,... more This paper presents a description of a teacher education programme evaluation that was initiated, planned, and executed in an attempt to enhance the quality of the programme's content, delivery, and impact. The evaluation comprised reports on the perspectives of major stakeholders on whether the Diploma in Education (Dip.Ed.) programme (2004-2009) had met their expectations, and on the benefits and limitations of the programme and its impact on teachers' practice. Subsequent to the preliminary inquiry into those stakeholders' perpectives, a more probing approach was applied to the perspectives of Heads of Department, School of Education (SOE) staff and Ministry of Education officials. The evaluation was guided by Guskey's (2002) theoretical and conceptual model of evaluating the impact of continuing professional development (CPD) on teachers' practice, and by the fourth generation evaluation model of Guba and Lincoln (1989). The sample for each phase was either s...
This paper reports on a segment of a research project that conducted an overall evaluation of the... more This paper reports on a segment of a research project that conducted an overall evaluation of the Diploma in Education (Dip. Ed.) programme provided by the School of Education of The University of the West Indies (UWI), St. Augustine for the period 2004-2009. The Dip. Ed. programme provides initial training for teachers employed in the secondary school system in Trinidad and Tobago. The overall study utilized the following models as theoretical and conceptual lenses: Guskey's (2002a) model of evaluating the impact of continuing professional development (CPD) on teachers' practice; and Guba and Lincoln's (1989) fourth generation evaluation model. This paper, which reports on the tachers' perspectives, presents findings on the extent to which the Dip. Ed. programme met their expectations, the benefits and limitations of the programme, and the impact of the programme on their practice. Data from teachers were gathered using an open-ended questionnaire, and were analys...
This paper examines the current status of teaching English in Trinidadian classrooms in the conte... more This paper examines the current status of teaching English in Trinidadian classrooms in the context of accepted L2 research, which holds that any programme aimed at teaching Standard English (SE) in the Anglophone Caribbean context should consider the students' ...
Contribute to the Repository We are seeking early adopters of the repository at the St. Augustine... more Contribute to the Repository We are seeking early adopters of the repository at the St. Augustine campus. If you wish to start a community or collection, you can contact the DSpace development team at The Alma Jordan Library, St. Augustine, at extensions ...
“Up a creek without a paddle” explains teachers’ views of the new one-to-one laptop initiative im... more “Up a creek without a paddle” explains teachers’ views of the new one-to-one laptop initiative implemented by the Ministries of Education in Trinidad and Tobago and Saint Lucia. These new initiatives required teachers to change their pedagogy and to negotiate the digital divide that existed between themselves and their students. This study uses the phenomenological research methodology to examine the experiences of teachers in Trinidad and Tobago and in Saint Lucia in implementing one-to-one laptop initiatives. Six secondary school teachers, three from Trinidad and Tobago and three from Saint Lucia, were interviewed to explore the barriers or fences they had to negotiate in the implementation of the one-to-one laptop initiatives. Findings reveal that while some teachers have the competence to integrate ICT in the classroom, others, mainly digital immigrants, lack basic technological skills and/or the required pedagogical skills to engage their students, the digital natives. Discussi...
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Papers by Sharon Phillip